05 February 2004	Thursday	13 Zilhaj 1424

COLOMBO, Feb 4: The Council of Muslims, a body with a base in eastern Sri Lanka, has urged the President and the Prime Minister to immediately recruit 2000 Muslims from the East to the police force on an "urgent and priority" basis in order to provide security to the Muslims, and put a stop to the ethnic cleansing process carried out by the LTTE.

The incidents in Kinniya, Toppur and Mutur last year were cited as the basis for he demand.

The Council, a non-political umbrella organization, made these observations at a news conference after concluding a fact-finding mission in the East.

It claimed that civilians in several Muslim-dominated areas have alleged that there was an attempt by the LTTE to eliminate them from these areas.

They further pointed out that the Muslim civilians in the province, mainly in areas like the eastern Kinniya and Mutur, have threatened to take up arms if the government and the armed forces fail to provide them with adequate protection.

The Council pointed out that problems of Muslims in the Eastern province have significantly increased after the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement between the government and the LTTE in February, 2002.

Accordingly, the Council maintained that lack of security in the region was one of the foremost concerns to the people.